Hey everyone! Now that our most anticipated films of 2015 and our top 10 films of 2014 are out there, we wanted to give you a chance to show us what you loved last year and what you’re looking forward to this year!
As always, thank you to everyone who sent us in a list. It always means a lot to hear from you. Getting feedback or tweets or facebook messages or any kind of interaction with our fans is honestly the best part about doing the podcast. I know that I, Alex, have a hard time keeping things in perspective when I haven’t heard from any listeners in a while. Energy runs low when it feels like nobody’s listening to what we’re putting out there. So once again, thank you for listening and thank you for writing in! On with the lists!
I just want to share my top ten most anticipated movies of 2015 with you.
Happy New Year guys!
I hope you’re all doing well. I wanted to send a very, very belated happy birthday message to Nick. We were both celebrating our birthdays that week. I hope you had a blast 🙂
Here is my quick list of top ten favorites in no particular order.
Looking forward to hearing your top ten lists.
Take care,
Nancy
- Her* (may have released in 2013 but I watched it this year and it’s one of my favorites)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- The Grand Budapest Hotel
- X-Men: Days of Future Past
- The Lego Movie
- Boyhood
- Gone Girl
- Interstellar
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
- The One I Love
Honorable Mention: Snowpiercer
David Steel’s top 5 movies of 2014 and 7 most-to-sorta anticipated movies of 2015 from Michigan
I only saw a little less than 20 new movies from 2014. My son was born in 2014 so I’ve been busy haha. I’m going to try to see Whiplash, John Wick and the interview within the next few days. I only feel comfortable making a top 5 from what I’ve seen here’s my list.
- The Grand Budapest Hotel
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- Edge of Tomorrow
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- 22 Jump Street
Honorable Mentions:
- Snowpiercer
- The Lego Movie
- X-Men: Days of Future Past
Most Anticipated of 2015:
- Avengers: Age Of Ultron
- Spectre
- Furious 7
- Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (a little)
- Ant-Man (maybe)
- Terminator: Genisys (sorta)
- Entourage (as a guilty pleasure)
Nicki’s List of 2014 in Film from Michigan:
Worst of 2014:
- Transcendence
- Willow Creek
- Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
- A Million Ways to Die in the West
- Birdman
Movies I wish I would have watched:
- Belle
- The Equalizer
- Horrible Bosses 2
- Foxcatcher
- Whiplash
Honorable Mentions:
- Horns
- American Sniper
- Tusk
- Snowpiercer
- Let’s Be Cops
And… drumroll please… Top 10 of 2014:
10. Step Up: All In
9. The Grand Budapest Hotel
8. Godzilla
7. The Taking of Deborah Logan
6. The Imitation Game
5. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
4. Bad Words
3. Guardians of the Galaxy
2. The Hundred Foot Journey
1. The Lego Movie
Finally, Nicki’s Dream Team:
- Drax the Destroyer and UniKitty
Joep’s Top 10 of 2014 from the Netherlands:
2014 was a great year for Sci-fi and I hope this trend will continue in 2015. I hope you guys enjoyed this years movies as much as I did.
My Top 10:
10. Chef
This movie felt very believable to me, with great character moments. Plus John Leguizamo is in it.
9. Boyhood
Boyhood is a movie that should not work but it does. To make a movie over a span of 12 years and keep the story interesting and have kind of an arc in it is very impressive.
8. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
I wasn’t the biggest fan of the first Captain America movie, but this movie sold me on Cap. The fistfights are awesome and it the first and second act have a very unique tone for a superhero movie.
7. The Lego Movie
I laughed my ass off with this movie and it made me want to take out my old lego’s.
6. Gone girl
Gone Girl was a film that kept me on the edge of my seat for the entire film. David Fincher knows how to build tension. Rosamund Pike gave one of the best performances of the year.
5. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
It does what all sequels should do. Andy Serkis is perfect as Ceasar and I hope he gets at least an Oscar nomination for it.
4. Guardians of the galaxy
What is there to say? Killer soundtrack mixed with great characters and awesome action scenes.
3. Interstellar
I love Nolan so every time he has a new movie coming out my expectations are very high, still he always exceeds my expectations. The docking sequence was one of the most amazing scenes of the year.
2. Snowpiercer
The best Sci-fi movie of the year. Cinematography is fantastic and I hope many people will discover this movie over the years because it deserves more attention that it got. Chris Evans is also very good in this.
1. Fury
This movie hit me the most emotionally. I saw it 2 times and there were Alex’s tears on both viewings. It is not a perfect movie but it has great tank fights and some good performances combined with a terrific soundtrack. When the movie ends you can’t immediately check Facebook or play Angry Birds or something. It leaves you thinking about war and about how people are changed by it.
Honorable Mentions:
Godzilla
The final kill, obviously.
Nightcrawler
The performance of Jake Gyllenhaal is phenomenal. From the first scene you believe this guy is real.
22 Jump Street
This was the funniest movie of the year and its exactly the same as the first one.
Fargo & True detective
These series are kinda like very long movies and I really like the anthology aspect of it. This makes the story heads towards something instead of expanding the story over multiple seasons and losing its tension. Also great performances all around.
Disappointment:
Transcendence
I expected something more from Wally Pfister. You guys commented on everything that is wrong with this movie in your review.
Worst Movies:
Transformers 4
Need I say more.
Into the Storm
Dumb movie with almost no story and if you go for a found footage style stick to it!
Alasdair’s Best Movies of 2014 from Shanghai:
Late though it may be, here’s my own list praising the films of 2014. It seems that the consensus on numerous podcasts is that this past year was so strong that ranking a list of top ten films is almost completely arbitrary. With more movies being made every year, more film festivals and film clubs to show them off, and more sophisticated blockbusters in the multiplex (like Edge of Tomorrow, Noah and the MCU) my guess is that this year will be equally difficult to pull favourites from. So roll-on 2015…
Of course, I wish I could have seen more movies from last year – particularly foreign language films and documentaries, which I tend to file away to watch later because, frankly, I’m mostly in the mood for diverting genre films these days. Such are the viewing habits of someone working two full-time jobs.
My own list is divided by “medals” (which I explain
here). In a nutshell, they represent levels of excellence – great films, all.
MEDALS FOR 2014
PLATINUM MEDAL
Under the Skin (UK, dir. Jonathan Glazer)
GOLD MEDALS
The Babadook (Australia, dir. Jennifer Kent) (I wrote a
review here)
Blue Ruin (USA, dir. Jeremy Saulnier)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (USA, dir. Wes Anderson)
Only Lovers Left Alive (UK / Germany, dir. Jim Jarmusch)
SILVER MEDALS
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (USA, dir. The Russo Bros) (I wrote a
review here)
Guardians of the Galaxy (USA, dir. James Gunn) (I wrote a
review here)
Jodorowsky’s Dune (USA, dir. Frank Pavich)
BRONZE MEDALS
The Raid 2, Berendal (UK / Indonesia, dir Gareth Evans)
Snowpiercer (South Korea / France, dir. Bong Joon-ho)
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (USA, dir. Matt Reeves)
The Double (UK, dir. Richard Ayoade) – Willy, you dared me and I did have fun!
Edge of Tomorrow (USA / UK, dir. Doug Lyman)
Interstellar (USA, dir. Christopher Nolan) (I wrote a
review here)
TOP OF MY WATCHLIST FROM 2014
Mr Turner – Ida – Gone Girl – The LEGO Movie – Stranger by the Lake – Calvary – Starred Up – Bethlehem – Watermark – Nightcrawler – Kingdom of Dreams and Madness (surprisingly, this isn’t a Werner Herzog movie).
I WOULD BUY A BEER FOR
Jonathan Glazer (BEST DIRECTOR – Under the Skin)
Jeremy Saulnier (BEST SCREENWRITER – Blue Ruin)
Daniel Landin (BEST CINEMATOGRAPHER – Under the Skin)
Jozef van Wissem and SQÜRL (BEST SCORE – Only Lovers Left Alive)
Ralph Feinnes (BEST ACTOR – Grand Budapest Hotel)
Tilda Swinton (BEST ACTOR – Snowpiercer, Only Lovers Left Alive)
Alex Holmes (BEST PRODUCTION DESIGNER – The Babadook)
Gareth Evans (BEST EDITOR – The Raid 2)
MOST ANTICIPATED FOR 2015
’71 (already released in the UK)
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Crimson Peak
The Duke of Burgundy
High Rise
In the Heart of the Sea
Knock, Knock
The Look of Silence
Mad Max: Fury Road
Relatos Salvajes (Wild Tales)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
BUT MOST OF ALL … The Shaun the Sheep Movie (OH YES!)
Overall some pretty wonderful lists! We’ve got some awesome listeners who are into awesome movies. Once again, thanks for listening to and supporting the Midwest Film Nerds Podcast!
Hi guys,
Happy New Year guys!
I only saw a little less than 20 new movies from 2014. My son was born in 2014 so I’ve been busy haha. I’m going to try to see Whiplash, John Wick and the interview within the next few days. I only feel comfortable making a top 5 from what I’ve seen here’s my list.
Nicki’s List of 2014 in Film from Michigan:
Joep’s Top 10 of 2014 from the Netherlands:
Alasdair’s Best Movies of 2014 from Shanghai:
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